Cardinal Red
by Jodes18
Summary: My new home. Firehouse 48. Lieutenant Lexa Woods.
1. Notes

It has been a while since I wrote anything and I apologise to anyone that is reading this and enjoyed any other stories I have wrote or started to. Unfortunately, they will more than likely not be continued or finished (not set in stone), as I have lost interest in the shows a little or the story has just bored me and I have no inspiration for it anymore.

Do not hesitate to what is on your mind, critical or not. Everything and everyone is welcome. I hope you enjoy this story and please, be honest.

There is a couple more chapters but I do not know whether they will be posted or not, or even re-written.

I will try and keep regular updates going but I cannot promise anything as life is crazy!

This story is called 'Cardinal Red' and is based on a group of firefighters.

Hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1

"Blake. Bellamy Blake." He reported, holding his hand out in greeting.

"New candidate?" I countered.

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Don't be to excited. See the two trucks out there?" I asked using my eyes to point at the dirty red firetrucks out the front of the station. He turns before looking back with a simple yes.

"Start cleaning. Supplies are in the closet. Lockers are through there and down the hall."

He headed into the building, soon emerging back without the bags he'd arrived with.

It's only my sixth week as Lieutenant of Squad here in St. Louis. I'd been transferred here because of complications back home. I'm originally from Seattle, Washington. It's different out here, but I like it.

"Guys, guys! It's opening day on Saturday! Who's coming? Jasper, Monty? You'll be there right Rave?"

That's the other Blake. I learnt very soon after my transfer that the girl was pure excitement, always full of energy. I liked it. It was a nice change of pace from my old unit. I like my space but solemn looks and rain didn't always bode well. There was a good balance in this house. Everyone seemed to click. It felt like home. Like family.

"Commander! You're in?"

"I'm in what Octavia?" I questioned hearing my nickname but not having the foggiest what the girl was chatting about.

"Opening day!" She squealed. But I just gave her a more puzzled look.

"She's talking about Baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals. It's opening day a Busch Stadium this Saturday."

"Exactly Clarke!" She exclaimed and my mind and body all but froze at the confirmation that my new crush was standing at my side.

"I'll be there O! You know I would't miss that for anything!" The blonde enthused making the other girl pump her first up in the air in delight before moving in for the high five. The small group chatted away animatedly as they made their way into Firehouse 48. I spared a glance at the newbie before following suit. I made my way over to Octavia and mentioned that her brother had arrived a short time ago and was out washing the trucks. She laughed and a small group of them made their way out to greet him.

That's about the time I noticed how the blondes face contorted from happy to a somewhat sombre expression as she made her way deeper into the room, finding the freshly brewed coffee and pouring herself a cup. I wanted to move out with the group, see how they all reacted to the extra addition being added to the team but something inside me pulled towards the lone girl. I had very few social encounters with this girl, most were when out on call or during meetings. She seemed nice enough. I thought for a second before deciding I should make sure she's okay.

"You okay there?" I greeted as I poured myself a hot drink.

"Yeah, I'm good." She murmured into her cup.

"Okay." I carefully dismissed, walking toward the door, drink in hand.

"It's just I haven't seen him since Finns funeral. They were best friends. Grew up together. We all did. It was my fault he died that day." She blurted. I stopped and turned to her.

"From what I know. He made a choice. He knew the protocol but he still gave his oxygen mask to that child. He made a sacrifice so someone else could live their life. His death was not your fault Clarke."

"That may all be true but I should have spotted the signs." she spoke with tears glistening in her eyes. I moved back towards her, placing my cup on the side as I got there. My hand lifted, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill.

"Clarke?" I almost whispered and waited until her eyes met mine before continuing. "It was not your fault. The doctors cleared him. It was their call. This isn't on you. They should have kept him in for observation instead of discharging him. You can't take the blame for this." She sniffed and nodded her head before her eyes locked on something over my shoulder. I moved my head to the side spotting what or who had caught her attention. The Blake boy stood watching us. A look of almost hurt or was it questioning tinging his face as my hand still covered Clarke's cheek, her own resting on my wrist. It took a moment for my mind to catch up to the positioning as I stepped back, I cleared my throat and gave Clarke a reassuring look and set off to do some work, giving the two of them some privacy to catch up. I paused just outside the door, my head leaning against the wall behind me as the conversation started off in the room I had just left.

"So you and the Captain?" he mentioned. And she just laughed, almost bitterly.

"No. Not me and the Captain." I heard her say. It must have been my imagination because I could have sworn hope coloured the statement until he spoke up again.

"Sooo..?" He drawled out. "Me and you could catch a movie sometime then, or maybe dinner. Like a date?" And that was my cue to leave. I pushed off the wall before her response came. I was making my way outside when Raven passed me and informed the Chief wanted a word. I nodded and set off on my new course.

* _Knock Knock*_

"You asked to see me Chief?"

"Ahh yes, Lieutenant Woods. Please, take a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of him and I obliged. "I just wanted to make sure you were still okay with the both of the Blake siblings under your command?"

"Sir, thank you again for asking and no disrespect but if I knew I couldn't handle it, I would never have agreed. The short amount of time I have been here, the stories I have heard from different members of the team, as well as the firefighters who trained the young man, I believe that the boy will be a great asset in many aspects. And after speaking with him back at the interview, I trust when he said he could keep things professional when needed. I do not believe that their connection to each other will be an issue. But if such an issue should arise, I will be sure to take all the correct measures in sorting it out."

"I respect and trust your choice and actions, Lieutenant Woods. Good Luck."

"Thank you. Sir." As I moved to get up, the tannoy blabbered out the first call of shift.

I soon moved out and was met with my whole team suited and booted, ready for action. We raced out, Truck and Ambo close behind.

… … …

The call out was a little crazy. Couple of drunks playing around on the highway. Was going well until one of them attacked my medics. They took control easy and soon sedated him.

Back at the house the crew were discussing going to the bar for drinks when Ambo arrived back.

Clarke and Raven stepping out of the bus and about to do inventory when the Blake boy intervened, scanning over Clarke and almost manhandling her. I could see it was out of worry but it got my gears grinding a little. Noticing the way Clarke reacted to his touch, almost flinching away when he tried to get a better look at the side of her face, made me spur into action. I was on my feet and making my way over thinking how to go about this without letting my feelings show. I first made my way over to Raven, checking on her. She was a little shaken after the last call but said she was fine. I offered her a ear if she ever wanted to talk. She smiled and thanked me as I migrated towards Clarke.

I stopped next to the boy and cleared my throat. He turned and saluted with a cheesy grin on his face. I returned a small smile.

"Should you not be cleaning something Candidate." I stated and he turned his attention to Clarke, giving her a smile before moving away. With him gradually disappearing, I turned my attention to Clarke. I took took a sharp breath when my eyes caught sight of the nasty red gash on the side of her face. My hand came up to inspect the wound and just like with Bellamy, she flinched slightly. I back tracked and apologised asking if she was okay. She gave an uneasy smile and nod combination which in turn caused her to wince. I called Raven over to take care of the wound but Clark soon batted her away claiming she was fine and she would deal with it. I nodded making sure and offering her the same as I had Raven before making leave to finalise some reports I was working on.

I soon found myself slumped over the desk in my small office, my mind reeling from trying to remember details of the few call outs from last shift for my reports. My body craving a drink of some sort, I turned, ready to stand when I came face to face with two cups. I peered up, my eyes connecting with what can only be describe as the ocean.

"I thought you might like some coffee, Commander. You've been back here a while. Everything okay?" the Blonde asked.

"I appreciate it Clarke." I said thanking her and taking a cup, bringing it to my lips before taking a gulp of the hot liquid. I moaned at how good it tasted and heard a small giggle, my eyes shooting open.

"Either you needed coffee desperately or"

"This tastes like heaven!" I blurted before Clarke could finish her sentence.

"I will take that as a compliment." She grinned. "So. What have you been doing back here for so long?" She questioned moving to take a seat on my bunk. I looked back at the desk before answering that I was finishing some reports. Upon returning my attention back to the beauty in front of me, my eyes scanned her face again. Before I could even think what I was doing I was reaching for a tissue and moving to sit next to the girl.

"You're bleeding. May I?" I asked holding the tissue up and gesturing to her gash. She hesitantly nodded once and turned her head so I could clean the wound. "I thought you were going to clean this up?"

"I was but then Jasper and Monty dragged me into their card game." She stated trying not to move too much. I smiled knowing how tough it was to turn the boys down when they want to play cards. I'd been dragged into more games than I care to admit since I got here. I dabbed a few more times at the wound before I was satisfied it had stopped bleeding and throwing the tissue away while grabbing the small med kit to the side of the room. I rummaged through before pulling out a needle and turning back to the girl. Her eyes widened but before she could do anything else I was crouched down in front of her, my eyes connecting with hers.

"Do you trust me?" She gave me a skeptical look so I explained how I was a medic in the army for a couple year before I came here. She agreed. And with that I began stitching the girls face up. About half way through I spotted a man watching me intently from the doorway leading to the bunk room. It was Bellamy. I ignored him, concentrating on the girl in front of me. I would worry about him later when I was finished. I finally placed the last stitch, grabbed the scissors and snipped the string, perfecting my work and cleaning it with a anti-septic wipe. I moved to sit back next to Clarke. She thanked me and I turned my head to her and froze. I hadn't realised how close we were until my lips were mere inches from her plump ones. I could feel her breath wash over me and I couldn't move. I was helpless in that moment. Her ocean eyes were looking deep into my chocolate brown ones, every so often tracing down to my lips and flicking back up. My mind raced. My heart raced. I was stuck, frozen to this spot. I didn't know what to do and then a ring sounded. I leapt up, internally thanking whoever was calling me. I answered the phone instantly and turned to smile at Clarke but all I got was her retreating form. I frowned slightly, trying to figure out what just happened. Or didn't happen. The man on the phone talked a mile a minute until thanking me for my time and finally hung up. I'm not entirely sure who it was, some telemarketer or something I think. My mind was too focused on other things to remember.

The rest of the shift flew by and to my surprise, I had almost forgotten what had happened earlier. It wasn't until I lay in my own bed, a few days later in the middle of the night, that my mind drifted back to that moment.

I thought of a thousand different outcomes but one stuck with me.

I could have kissed her.

Which then started a reel of questions soaring through my head. Would she want me to kiss her? Did she want me to kiss her? Did she not? Would she slap me? Wasn't she with that Blake boy? Is she even gay?

I internally berated myself. It didn't matter. Nothing could happen. I was her superior. It is frowned upon. I gave up trying to sleep at about 3am and decided it would be a good idea to get a run in before the next 48 hour shift started.

6am rolled around and I was just parking my car when I saw Clarke walk into the station to start her shift. I pushed any and all thoughts of her from my mind. On shift, we had to be focused.

Walking down the corridors I spotted Chief.

"Morning Chief." I greeted. He smiled and returned the wording. "Anything happen last shift I should be aware of?" I asked, to which he then updated me on all things firehouse related from the past 48 hours. Just as our discussion died down, the tannoy went and Squad, Truck and Ambo made their way out to a multi car pile up down where N Tucker Blvd meets Olive St.

The call ran long and we were all relieved when we got to the the firehouse. We got lucky, we didn't lose anybody on that call but it was touch and go for a few moments there.

I'd grabbed a bottle of water before heading to my office to start the reports, this was going to be a long one. A few minutes in and there was a tap at the door. I didn't bother looking up, just told whoever to come in. I heard shuffling and someone sitting on the bed before I asked how I could help and thats when I heard her angelic voice.

"Can we talk?" I spun around on those words, hiding any emotions on my face.

"Sure. What's on your mind Clarke?" She gave me a pensive look before starting.

"The other day. When you stitched my face up. Thank you again by the way." I smiled at her, acknowledging the thanks and she continued. "We almost kissed."

"I'm sorry Clarke. It should not have happened and I am truly sorry if I have put you in an compromising situation." I blurted out before she could get another word in.

"Oh.." Was all she said as she looked down. A sad look painted across her face.

"Unless..?" I questioned. She looked up, a glint of something in her yes. She moved forward a little, her eyes shining with what I could only describe as an almost craving. She blinked a few times, her eyes heavy as she glanced down to my lips a few times. Before I knew what was happening, I was pushing my chair closer to her so I was now sitting directing in front of her, my knees either side of hers. Her hands reached out for my right as my left grazed the wound on her cheek. She subtly leant in to my hand as her right came up a cupped my left. Her fingers slowly drifted down the length of my arm and up to my neck. By this point, we were so close I could almost taste her on my lips already. All I wanted was to give in. and then suddenly I was jerked forward. Our lips crashing together in a flurry of tongues, teeth and lips. I could feel her moan into my mouth more than I heard her. I felt myself being pushed back a little but her hand on the back of my neck kept our lips securely locked as one. She was now towering above me. I stood slowly, my hands resting on the back of her hips, pulling her flush against my body, this kiss now slow and steady. I couldn't breathe by this point but I couldn't stop kissing her either. She tasted like heaven. I was addicted from just one kiss. Gradually we stopped, both catching our breath as I breathed the word 'wow'. The word seem to snap her back to reality and all to soon she was retreating, yet again, and mumbling the word sorry. I was left standing there with a dumbfounded expression on my face.


End file.
